DTIC ADA477304: Rubidium-Fountain Characterization Using the USNO Clock Ensemble

by: Defense Technical Information Center

Publication date: 2007-05-01

Topics: DTIC Archive, Peil, Steven, NAVAL OBSERVATORY WASHINGTON DC, *FREQUENCY, *STABILITY, *CLOCKS, *COMPARISON, MEASUREMENT, SYMPOSIA, WHITE NOISE, PROTOTYPES, SCALE, MEAN, CONTINUITY, MASERS, RUBIDIUM, FREQUENCY SHIFT, FRACTIONATION,

Collection: dticarchive; additional_collections

Language: English

We have carried out stability comparisons between our rubidium fountain, built as a prototype for a continuously operating clock, and the USNO Maser Mean timescale. Long, continuous runs of the prototype system allow us to demonstrate fractional frequency-stability comparisons to the Maser Mean that integrate as white frequency noise, with a stability of 5 10(exp -16) at one day. We have measured the frequency sensitivity of the rubidium fountain to various experimental parameters in order to establish the regulation required to reach a long-term stability of order 1 10(exp -16).